Video Classroom on a Shoestring
Video conferencing, Web casting, and course management applications are valuable
tools for teaching in a distance-learning format. But many of these require
hardware, software, funding, and the expertise of an information technology
professional or technology-proficient instructor. Is it possible to teach an
online course using audio and video without adopting a lot of expensive technology?
For one instructor, the answer is yes. In fact, for him, bare bones has become
an art form.
Kent Meyer, professor of accounting at California State University, Sacramento,
teaches two upper-division distance-learning courses—international accounting
and corporate partnerships and estate tax. Each of the courses enrolls up to
two dozen students, some located hundreds of miles away. Meyer and project coordinator
Rolando Cabiles have developed an inexpensive strategy for using live audio
and video lectures in the courses.
The solution involves capturing one-way video, transmitting it via the Internet,
and simultaneously using instant messaging to communicate with their students.
Meyer and Cabiles use a Logitech QuickCam Web camera to broadcast real-time
video and audio of Meyer’s lectures via SpotLife Inc.’s Personal Video
Broadcasting service. Enrolled students access the course via a SpotLife password,
a standard PC with an Internet connection, a modem, and a free instant messaging
ID. Meyer simply sits in front of the camera and lectures. If he wants to display
a diagram or photo, he holds it up to the camera. Alternatively, he can send
complicated figures to his students via e-mail before or after the lectures.
Meyer has taken technology down to the bare bones for his distance-learning
courses. He d'esn’t even use a course Web site. Anything he or his students
want to say to one another travels via e-mail. But making sure his students
could see him was critical.
“Students want that personal interaction,” Meyer says. “They
respond to voice intonation, body language, and seeing a face much better than
they do reading text off a screen.” Meyer sought a solution that would
be inexpensive—the whole setup cost him less than $100—and easy. Using
the lowest technological denominator ensures that all of his students, no matter
what their resource level, can access the course.
During the lecture, students can communicate with Meyer directly, or with one
other, via instant messaging. Meyer scans the questions and comments as they
come in during the lecture and responds to them on the fly. Cabiles assists
Meyer by troubleshooting the technology, answering asides from students, and
monitoring connections.
Both note that in this format, students are more interactive and more communicative
than in a standard course. “This format plays right into the multitasking
that we already do in our daily lives,” Cabiles says. “Being able
to ask questions via instant messaging takes away the fear and intimidation
factor, and we find that students contribute to class much more than they otherwise
would.”
Meyer notes another benefit: no additional class prep time. Because he lectures
much like he would in front of a class full of students, he d'esn’t have
to prepare special diagrams, course notes, or text material. There’s no
need to move his course material onto a Web page or into a course management
product.
Meyer also sees the approach as a way to reach students around the world who
may not have access to the latest technology tools. “It’s a way to
broaden distance education to developing countries and anyplace where there
are interested students,” he says.
For more information, contact Kent Meyer at [email protected].